Refrigerator door



April 1930. c. c. SPREEN 1,753,952

REFRIGERATOR DOOR Filed June 8, 1927 Vii- 1? Charles C. Spreen Inue ntor 5 Attorriegs Patented A r. :8, 1930 1 s r-Ares "P.A' IINT OFFICE CHARLES c. srza'nnn, or DETROIT, mnemonic, assrenon. To xELvriuTon conrom- Tron, or DETROIT, irronrean, A com-cannon or MICHIGAN I REFRIGERATOR noon Application flled June 8, 1927'. Serial No. 197,248.

My inventionrelates to refrigerators and it has particular relation to a novel type of door construction adapted to be employed thereon. I

5 Heretofore it has been customary to construct refrigerator doors of a plurality of layers of plywood glued together and in some instances a layer of heat insulating material about the edges of which are secured, by

means of nails and glue, additional strips of wood which are intended to secure the various portions together and prevent the admission thereto of moisture from the atmosphere and from other sources, such as water accidentally spilled thereon, water resulting from precipitation of the moisture in the atmosphere on adjacent parts of the refrigerator which may run over the door, etc.

The side strips, however, being composed of wood, absorb moisture themselves and swell, thus breaking any seal of glue-between the side strips and the remainder of the door. Also such glue seals are frequently originally defective, and, in addition, the moisture absorbed by the side strips is frequently transmitted directly to the interior portions of the door. The admission of-moisture to the interior of the door causes swelling thereof which results in the separation of the various portions thereof, the cracking and breaking of the wooden portions, and the deformation of the door which prevents its properly closing 3 the opening in the refrigerator affording ac cess to thestorage compartments thereof, thus reducing the efficiency of the refrigerator.

By my invention I have eliminated these difficulties by providing a door for refrigerators which is permanently sealed against the admission of moisture to-the'interior portions 40 thereof.

'One object of my invention consists in providing a refrigerator door which is ,com-

pletely sealed against the admission of moisture to the interior portions thereof.

cide adoor on which the necessity of separate sealing gasket is eliminated,

' -A further object of my invention to provide a novel type of refrigerator door which 5 is simple and Inexpensive to construct, which- Another object of my invention is to pro-.

presents an attractive appearance, and which as suflicient resiliency to withstand blows and strains without damage thereto.

For a better understanding of my invention reference may now be had to the ,accompanying drawings, of which: i i

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a refrigerator provided with a door constructed in accordance with my invention;

and

Fig. 2 is a similar cross-sectional view of a portion of a refrigerator provided with a door constructed in accordance with another form of my invention; and I 4 Fig- 3 is another view,similar to Fi s. 1' and 2 illustrating a third embodiment o my invention.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, I have shown in Fig. 1 two side walls 11 of a refrigerator, the opening 12 between i which serves to afford access to the interior of the refrigerator, when a door 13 is opened. The door 13 is mounted upon the one side Wall 11 by means of hinges 14 and is adapted to be held in a tightly closed position by .means of a catch or hasp 15 which engages a suitable-cooperating member 16 secured to the opposite s1de wall 11. g

The door 13 consists of an outer layer of plywood l7,'which is of greater width than the opening 12, an inner layer of plywood 18 which is of lesser width than the opening 12, and an intermediate layer of heat insulating .material 19, composed of ground cork, or the like. The members 17 and. 18 are composed of pilesof wood rather than a single piece of wood as such plies are stronger, 'lesslikely to crack, and are better insulators of heat. Molded about the members 17, 18 and 19 and completely enclosing them is a covering of rubber 20 which not only prevents th admission of moisture thereto but also se ves to aid in holding the members together. The cover 20 is provided with an integral raised bead member 21 which extends about the periphery of the member 1 17 on the innerside thereofand is adapted to engage the adjacentsurfaces of the side walls 11 when the door is closed, and forms a-seal;- i'ng contact therewith;

new

The cover 20 is composed of relatively soft rubber in order that it may be sufliciently resilient to withstand blows without cracking or being marked and also, in order that the bead 21 may provide an effective airtight seal between the door and the door frame. 1

From this description it will be a parent that, as the interior portionsof the oor are completely enclosed within the rubber cover.

20 .that no moisture of any kind will have access thereto. Also it will be apparent that the rib or bead 21 eliminates the necessity of e structure illustrated in Fig. 2 is quite similar to that shown in Fig. 1 except that the inner layer of plywood and intermediate layer 5f heat insu ating material have been. dispensedwith. The reference numreals ema separate door gasket. T

. ployed in connection with Fig. 1 are therefor employed on Fig. 2 to designate corresponding elements.

In the door illustrated in Fig. 3 I have shown the outer layer of plywood 17 and the layer 19 of heat insulating material. The

-" layer'19 is, however, secured to the member 17 and enclosed by a dished sheet metal member .22 which constitutes the interior wall'of the door. The rubbercover 20 in this instance completely covers the member 17' and overlaps the edges of the member 22, thereby 3.- A refri erator door comprising a closure mem er composed of heat. in-

preventing the admission of moisture to the interior of the door at the edge of the mem- .ber 22. p The cover 20 is, of course, provided with the integral head or edge21 as de scribed in connection with Fig. 1.

Although I have illustrated several forms which my invention may assumeand have described in detail one application thereof, it

6 will be apparent to those skilled in the art that itis not so limited, but that various modifications and changes may be' made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention or from the scope, of the ap- 45 claims- What I claim is:

1. A refrigerator door comprising a of layers of plywood, a layer of eat as i atingmaterial interposed between cer- 50 tain of said layers, and a layer of relatively soft rubber completely enclosing said plywood and insulating material, said layer of rubber being provided with an integral raised bead member adaptedto serve as a filidoorgasket.

.2. A refrigeratordoorcomprising a plurali of layers of plywood, a layer of heat.

material interposed between certain of said layers, and a layer of relatively a soft rubber completely enclosing said plywood and material, said layer of rubber being provided with an integral .raiaed beadmemberertendingabontthepeof the door on the "l ptedtoaerve a aadoor sidg'thereof, 

